Taj Corridor case hearing deferred till May 23

The hearing in the Rs 175 crore Taj Corridor case allegedly involving Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati was deferred till May 23 even as the CBI did not not file the Governor's sanction for her prosecution.

Designated Court judge Rekha Dikshit fixed the new date for hearing the case after one of the accused, a senior official, questioned the competence of the court to direct the CBI to file the sanction for prosecution of the public servants - Mayawati and five other officials -accused in the case.

The CBI, which was directed by the court in February to produce the Governor's sanction of the public servants accused in the case, did not not file the report on the sanction.

The agency sought time to reply to former Environment Principal Secretary RK Sharma's intervention application in which he had questioned the court's competency to seek sanction for prosecution against public servants.

Sharma's counsel Nandit Shrivastav challenged the February 15 order of the designated court saying it could not not issue such an order. He also wanted to be heard on the matter now.

CBI counsel RK Tiwari pleaded that the agency required time to file its reply on Sharma's application. But he maintained that Sharma had no no locus standi at this moment in the matter.